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Tales of the Greatcoats Volume 1 by Sebastian De Castell
“So I’m only in one of these nine Greatcoats stories?” Brasti asked, pausing his work.
“Yes,” De Castell replied. “Though to—”
“But Kest gets two?”
“The man knows talent when he sees it,” Kest said, skimming through the pages of Tales of the Greatcoats. “I especially like how you have me win a duel without actually fighting the duel. And … Hold on, I’m in only two?”
Brasti snorted.
January 6th, 2022. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Sebastien De-Castell | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Foundation: Season One on Apple TV+
In my first review of Apple TV’s Foundation series, written after the first two shows, I said it wasn’t “great” TV (at least not yet) but ranged consistently between good and very good. Having just finished all ten episodes of season one, I’d broaden that range from “occasionally annoying to occasionally great.” In other words, it’s a mixed bag, which I suppose shouldn’t be much of a surprise for a series that mostly follows three plot strands, has multi-decade time jumps, and is itself based on a series of loosely connected short stories that were later retconned into a larger universal narrative.
December 23rd, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Isaac Asimov | Film / TV | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Beth Cato concludes her BLOOD OF EARTH trilogy with Roar of Sky (2018), bringing the story of clandestine geomancer Ingrid Carmichael, which began in Breath of Earth and continued in Call of Fire, to an action-packed close. This review will contain some spoilers for events in previous books, so proceed with caution.
Badly wounded and permanently debilitated after her desperate fight in Seattle against Ambassador Blum,
December 21st, 2021. Jana Nyman and Marion Deeds´s rating: 4 | Beth Cato | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Absynthe by Brendan P. Bellecourt
Absynthe (2021) is the new novel by Brendan P. Bellecourt, the pen name of Bradley Beaulieu, author of the excellent SONG OF THE SHATTERED SANDS series. Talk about a change. Beaulieu leaves the desert far behind to head for the big noisy city in a complex Jazz Age/Psi-powers tale set in an alt-history US.
A decade ago America fought the Great War with the St. Lawrence Pact made up of Great Britain, Canada,
December 20th, 2021. Bill Capossere´s rating: 4 | Brendan P. Bellecourt | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
First He Died by Clifford D. Simak
As I think I may have mentioned elsewhere, stories about time travel can sometimes give me a headache right between the eyes. And really, who among us hasn’t, at one time or another, come close to getting a major-league migraine when trying to suss out the temporal conundrums inherent in many of these tales? Fortunately for me — and my head — the novel that I have just experienced is one that does indeed feature time travel in its story line, but that lays out its complexities in a manner that leaves the reader blissfully headache free.
December 16th, 2021. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Clifford D. Simak | Stand-Alone | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished by Rachel Aaron
No Good Dragon Goes Unpunished (2016) is another fun installment in Rachel Aaron’s HEARTSTRIKERS series about a race of shapeshifters who can take on both human and dragon forms. The main character, Julius, is the youngest member of the powerful Heartstriker dragon clan, which is led by his ruthless mother. Unlike the rest of his family, Julius is a nice guy who, for most of his life, has felt like he doesn’t fit in. His mother,
December 13th, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Rachel Aaron | Audio | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth (Volume 5): The Pickens County Horror and Others by Mike Mignola (writer), Scott Allie (writer), Jason Latour (art), Max Fiumara (art), James Harren (art), Dave Stewart (colors), Clem Robins (letters)
This volume collects three stories: “The Pickens County Horror,” “The Transformation of J. H. O’Donnell,” and “The Abyss of Time.” Liz is still missing and Abe Sapien is near death, so there are more regular B.P.R.D. recruits being sent out alone to deal with reports of the unnatural. That’s when two agents get called to Pickens County, a place that seems to be inhabited by vampires and perhaps other creatures.
December 11th, 2021. Brad Hawley´s rating: 4 | Mike Mignola | Comics | SFF Reviews | no comments |
The Green Man Returns by Harold M. Sherman
Near the conclusion of Harold M. Sherman’s 1946 novel The Green Man, the eponymous Numar, visitor to Earth from the far-distant planet Talamaya, makes some startling predictions in a speech to the world from Chicago’s Soldier Field. Among other things, the green-skinned space wanderer tells mankind that a Great Light that will one day arise in the East will usher in a new age of spiritual enlightenment and “a new harmony of being with all things.” He also tells the book’s scatterbrained leading lady,
December 10th, 2021. Sandy Ferber´s rating: 4 | Harold M. Sherman | SFF Reviews | no comments |
One Good Dragon Deserves Another by Rachel Aaron
One Good Dragon Deserves Another (2015) is the second book in Rachel Aaron’s self-published HEARTSTRIKERS series. I listened to Audible Studio’s editions of these books with my 19-year-old daughter. We love the story and the performance of Vikas Adam, the narrator. This review will have some spoilers for the previous book, Nice Dragons Finish Last. If you haven’t read it, you should probably stop here and go do that first.
December 9th, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Rachel Aaron | Audio | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Nice Dragons Finish Last by Rachel Aaron
Julius Heartstriker is the youngest son of Bethesda Heartstriker, the ambitious, aggressive, and ruthless matriarch of the powerful Heartstriker dragon clan. Bethesda is disappointed in her youngest son. He’s small, weak, nonthreatening and, worst of all, he actually likes humans. He’s just too nice.
To express her displeasure, and to put a fire in Julius’s belly, Bethesda banishes him to the Detroit Free Zone, a place ruled by an ancient spirit named Algonquin. Pretty much anything goes in the DFZ, but one thing that Algonquin won’t tolerate in her realm is dragons.
December 3rd, 2021. Kat Hooper´s rating: 4 | Rachel Aaron | Audio | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…